·:[ Environmental News Bits ]:·
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Read the press release.

Founded in 1970, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is a young federal agency, compared to other agencies that date back to the 1800’s. Part of an agency’s growing process is finding the best ways to measure and report on its progress. Therefore, EPA today released its 2008 Report on the Environment (EPA 2008 ROE), an important resource that citizens can use to better understand trends in the condition of the air, water, and land and related changes in human health and the environment in the United States. The EPA 2008 ROE will also be a valuable resource that can inform and focus EPA activities to improve and protect America’s environment.

The EPA 2008 ROE uses scientifically sound indicators to measure and report on overall progress toward protecting the environment and human health. An environmental indicator must be quantifiable and provide valuable information on the condition of air, land, water, human health, or ecological condition. For example, one water ROE environmental indicator is the percentage each year of public or community water systems that have reported no violations of EPA health-based standards.

Read the press release.

Sundance Channel has added two British eco-reality series to the summer line up of the network’s weekly environmental block THE GREEN. Beginning July 1 at 9pm et/pt, the network will debut “Outrageous Wasters,” a four-part series that follows a single family through an ultra-crash course in eco-aware living, designed to transform them from energy-guzzling “meanies” to tree-loving “greenies” in two weeks. Kicking off on July 29 at 9pm et/pt is season 2 of “Its Not Easy Being Green.” In eight thirty-minute episodes three “green experts” travel around the British countryside advising and assisting a range of citizens in realizing their eco goals. These shows will be followed each week in the THE GREEN by a documentary film on one of a broad range of eco-related topics, from climate change and energy to design, fashion and architecture.

Read the full story at News.com.

The lowly soybean has found a calling higher than tofu and tamari sauce. It’s being used to insulate equipment bringing electricity to millions of homes.

More than 100 utilities are using soy-based oil as a safer, eco-friendly alternative to petroleum coolants in electrical transformers, which convert high-voltage power from a plant to a lower voltage for consumers.

Read the full story at News.com.

Depending on who you talk to, electric cars pack the disruptive force of either Dell PCs or the Apple iPhone.

Regardless of your choice of analogy, the auto industry is facing the kind of technology-based competition it hasn’t seen in years.

And in this game, start-ups claim to have the upper hand on the incumbents.

Via Docuticker

Biofuels Incentives: A Summary of Federal Programs
Source: Congressional Research Service (via OpenCRS)

With recent high energy prices and the passage of major energy legislation in 2005 (P.L. 109-58) and 2007 (P.L. 110-140), there is ongoing congressional interest in promoting alternatives to petroleum fuels. Biofuels — transportation fuels produced from plants and other organic materials — are of particular interest. Ethanol and biodiesel, the two most widely used biofuels, receive significant government support under this law in the form of mandated fuel use, tax incentives, loan and grant programs, and certain regulatory requirements. The 18 programs and provisions listed in this report have been established over the past 27 years, and are administered by five separate agencies and departments: Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, Internal Revenue Service, and Customs and Border Protection. These programs target a variety of beneficiaries, including farmers and rural small businesses, biofuel producers, petroleum suppliers, and fuel marketers. Arguably, the most significant federal programs for biofuels have been tax credits for the production or sale of ethanol and biodiesel. However, with the establishment of the renewable fuels standard (RFS) under P.L. 109-58, Congress has mandated biofuels use; P.L. 110-140 significantly expanded that mandate. In the long term, the mandate may prove even more significant than tax incentives in promoting the use of these fuels. This report outlines federal programs that provide direct or indirect incentives for biofuels. For each program described, the report provides details including administering agency, authorizing statute(s), annual funding, and expiration date. The Appendix provides summary information in a table format.

+ Full Report (PDF; 104 KB)

For a full-color, graphic version of this newsletter, go to http://www.greenbiz.com/enewsletters/2008/greenbiz/index.html.

TerraCycle: Worm Poop and So Much More
By Matthew Wheeland
Tom Szaky, CEO of a company that made its name selling fertilizer made from worm castings, talks to GreenBiz Radio about making the greenest possible products from other people’s trash, turning the production cycle on its ear, and other ways that companies can design products that turn waste into gold.

Energy Efficiency: Overlooked and Misunderstood
A new report from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy finds that energy efficiency during the last 30-plus years has been paid little homage and future gains are threatened by inaction. U.S. energy consumption at the end of 2008 is expected to total half of the energy consumed in 1970, the report
found.

REI, Google Expand Solar Investments
REI has announced its next steps in making solar-powered stores, and Google’s philanthropic arm has funneled funding to another solar company.

Mars Snack Foods Taps Landfill Gas for Energy
A month after Frito-Lay announced plans to use solar energy to make SunChips, the Mars snack food plant flipped the switch on a project that will use energy generated from landfill gas to power its operations.

Starbucks Sets New Goals for Renewables, Green Building
Starbucks wants to slash energy consumption in its stores by 25 percent and buy enough renewable energy certificates to satisfy half of its stores’ energy needs, all by 2010, the company said Wednesday. All new construction will incorporate green building principles.

Toyota Prius Sales Top 1 Million While Company Bets on Green Building
Toyota is celebrating two green milestones this month with sales of its Prius surpassing the 1 million mark, while at the same time, the carmaker has earned the country’s first LEED-Gold certification of a dealership.

Cisco Launches TelePresence for Mid-Sized Businesses
The TelePresence 500 is billed as a lower-cost entry for medium-sized businesses at a time when companies are looking at ways to trim corporate travel. The company also debuted a teleconferencing system for large parties of up to 18 participants.

SMART Papers Breaks Ground on $30M Biomass Plant
The co-generation facility put the papermaker on the path of using 100 percent renewable energy to power the operations of its Southern Ohio location. The company also will sell excess power to the state’s grid, as well as generate carbon credits.

UPS to Boost Alt-Fuel Fleet by 30 Percent with New Trucks
With the purchase of 500 new vehicles, the company will continue to grow its alt-fuel fleet, already the largest private fleet in the industry.

eBay Bids on Solar
eBay’s North Campus is now the home of 3,248 solar panels in a 650-kilowatt system that will supply 18 percent of the campus’ power, saving the company about $100,000 in electricity costs in its first year of operation. The company used the solar energy system’s unveiling to tout its first LEED-Gold building, which also is the city’s first.

Wal-Mart Canada to Eliminate PVC from Light Bulb Packages
As part of the retailer’s plan to improve packaging, it will switch from PVC plastic to cardboard for energy efficient light bulb packaging.

Raymour & Flanigan Goes for the Green
The Northeast furniture retailer’s recycling program has diverted roughly 16 millions pounds of waste from landfills, while its storeroom upgrades have helped the company offset energy costs, which have risen abou  30 percent.

The Aspen Institute’s Closer Look at Supply Chain Management
This report in the Aspen Institute’s series “A Closer Look at Business Education”  offers expert insight into the importance of proper oversight of your supply chains  as well as resources to further your knowledge of the topic.

Balancing the Environment with the Scales of Justice
By Tilde Herrera
In a move playing out largely behind the scenes but gaining quick momentum, law firms are using simple and inexpensive tools to evolve from notorious resource hogs (think a half-ton of paper per lawyer, per year) to models of eco-stewardship.

Green and Mean: Responsible Property Investing in a Tough Economy
By Jeff Feinstein and Michael Butler
Our national building infrastructure poses some major challenges to the climate fight, especially when the economy makes investors hesitant to take on new projects; but here we explain why green buildings are among the best investments now — and any time.

Beyond Recycling: Responsible Paper Purchasing
By Tensie Whelan, Rainforest Alliance
Companies can make an enormous difference in the global environment and forest communities by adopting strict purchasing policies.

Via Docuticker.

Public Health Impacts of Climate Change in California (PDF; 4.3 MB)
Source: Public Health Institute

Funded in part by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this publication addresses community vulnerabilities as well as strategies for preventing and adapting to the effects of climate change in California.

This docket includes the list of Regulatory Agenda level actions recently approved for development by the U.S. EPA’s Regulatory Policy Officer. The list provides the title, abstract, contact person, projected publication timeframe, and Regulatory Identifier Number (RIN). EPA updates this list every month. It includes a feature that sends an e-mail notification when a new document is added to the docket. To activate the notifications:

• Click the “Notification” icon found in the upper, right portion of your screen. Fill out the registration form.
• Select the types of documents you are interested in. If you want to receive a notification every time a document is deposited in the docket, place a check mark in the boxes next to every document type (Rules, Proposed Rules, Notices, Public Submissions, Supporting & Related Materials, and Other). Otherwise, pick those that are most relevant to you.
• Click the “Submit” button at the bottom of the form.
• You will receive an email with instructions for how to complete the registration process. Make sure you follow these instructions. You will not begin receiving notifications until you do.

This National Library of Medicine guide provides links to information about the health effects of Mercury. Includes information in Spanish.

Read the full solicitation.

The Budweiser Renewable Energy and Wildlife Conservation Research Prize is being established by Anheuser-Busch and the Foundation to advance new technologies or practices that contribute to making renewable energy a more practical energy alternative. The $100,000 prize will be competitive and awarded in consideration of a project’s ability to develop or evaluate new cost-effective renewable energy technologies or practices for industrial applications and demonstrate the measurable benefits such practices may have in advancing wildlife conservation. Eligibility for the research prize is open to accredited post-secondary academic institutions, public agencies and nonprofit organizations working collaboratively on advancing renewable energy and wildlife conservation research.

Read the full post at News.com.

Algae may someday become a part of the jet set.

The pond plant is getting a boost from a joint biofuel effort announced Thursday that involves some marquee names in the aviation industry–Airbus and JetBlue Airways–along with International Aero Engines, Honeywell Aerospace, and a second Honeywell company called UOP. The group plans to study ways to make commercial aviation fuels out of so-called second-generation feedstocks such as algae.